The Karma of Thoughts and Intentions

Nothing can exist without a cause.
Voltaire

What if karma was based on our true intentions instead of merely our actions? This would certainly seem to make our thoughts much more important, especially if you believe in the karma, the law of cause and effect. It is commonly believed by many people that our actions, both good and bad, will come back to us in one form or another. But actions can be deceiving. Many actions which appear honorable and good actually have hidden agendas and less than honorable intentions.

With this in mind, let’s examine karma a bit deeper. The law of karma basically means that the present quality of your life is determined by your behavior in the past. For example, if you have been a good person and spent at least some of your time helping others in the past, you may find that people seem to offer you help when you need it today. On the other hand, if you have been mean and nasty to people in the past, you can expect that same attitude to revisit you in the future, in one form or another.

A simple way of looking at karma is whatever you send out in this world will eventually come back to you. If you send out love, kindness, and harmony, then those wonderful traits will eventually manifest in your life in the future. But, as with everything in life, there are two sides to the karmic coin. The law of karma does not discriminate. If you mistreat people, are mean and nasty, cheat people, manipulate people, etc., you can expect those actions to eventually catch up with you too.

It is a pretty simple concept to grasp. Your actions, both good and bad, will come back to you at some time during your life. For every action, there is a reaction. Everything you do carries a consequence of some kind, whether good or bad. Most people who believe in the reality of the law of karma, or as many in the West prefer to call it, the law of cause and effect, accept the belief that our actions have consequences. But what about our intentions and thoughts; are they also susceptible to karma?

There is no act, however trivial, but has its train of consequences.
Samuel Smiles

The field of quantum physics has now proven that our thoughts contain energy. Thoughts are forces. Negative thoughts contain negative, low level energy; and positive thoughts contain positive, high level energy. Every thought that you have, produces some effect, just as every action produces some effect. While it is true that the effect of many of our thoughts is minimal, they do produce an effect nonetheless.

If this is true, and it is, then why would our thoughts and internal intentions be exempt from the law of karma? Are we not just as responsible for the thoughts that we entertain as we are for the actions which we take in our lives? Of course we are. You and you alone, are responsible for your thoughts, at least the thoughts that you allow your mind to dwell on for any length of time. And, you are surely responsible for the intentions behind your actions.

This brings me back to the original question, what if our thoughts and intentions are susceptible to the law of karma, just like our actions are?

There would be no hiding malicious intentions behind the veil of what appears to be honorable actions, at least not from the universal laws of the Universe. The thoughts that we dwell on would produce effects in our life just like our actions do. Our thoughts and intentions would become as important as our actions, at least as far as the building of our future life is concerned.

Do evil thoughts of retaliation injure oneself or one’s enemy?
Nagarjuna

Well, I have some news for you. Karma does apply to your thoughts and intentions. Do you think that the Great Spirit of our Universe cannot see the intentions behind your actions? Are you so clever and cunning that you can con the Universe by hiding your less than admirable intentions behind the veil of your seemly good, but empty actions? Can you manipulate karma like you manipulate naïve, trusting  people who cross your path? I don’t think so!

Karma cannot be conned. What you send out, in any form, will come back to you. It doesn’t matter if it is evil, selfish actions, or malicious, negative thoughts and intentions, you will reap what you sow. Your intentions do matter. It is your intentions behind your actions which make your actions honorable or dishonorable, not the action itself.

Thoughts give birth to intentions, and intentions give birth to honorable or dishonorable actions. This is a package deal. Your thoughts, intentions, and actions cannot be completely separated.

Think of these as parts of a recipe and once you mix them all together, there is no separating them again. They become a part of the whole creation that you alone created, and you alone will be responsible for. You will either reap the benefits of it or the detriments of it. It may not happen overnight, but be assured, eventually you will see the results of your creation.

There is always a cause for everything in your life – both the good and the bad. Your thoughts and intentions are not exempt from the laws of the Universe. Make sure that your thoughts and intentions, as well as your actions, are pure and honorable. You may fool the naïve eyes of man, but God sees behind the veil of your actions.

Now, though I do no wrong, I’m punished by my past. Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit…When you meet with adversity don’t be upset, because it makes sense…
If we should be blessed by some great reward…it’s the fruit of a see planted by us in the past.
Bodhidharma

Bohdi Sanders

Author of:
Secrets of the Soul, Wisdom of the Elders,
Warrior Wisdom, and Modern Bushido

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Tale of Two Pebbles

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune
of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender,
who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he
proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the
cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the
matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble
into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble
from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her
father’s debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her
father’s debt would still be forgiven.

3) If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into
jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As
they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he
picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two
black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick
a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have
done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have
told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should know that there were two black pebbles in the bag and
expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to
save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the
hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and
logical thinking. The girl’s dilemma cannot be solved with traditional
logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above
logical answers.

What would you recommend that the girl do?

Well, here is what she did. . .

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble.
Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the
pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me!” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the
bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I
picked.”

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had
picked the white one.

And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl
changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely
advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY?

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don’t
attempt to think or we confuse worry with constructive thinking.
There is always a way out; you just have to find it.

Have a week filled with positive thoughts and sound decisions.

Bohdi Sanders

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Listen to Your Spirit

Don’t follow the advice of others; rather,
learn to listen to the voice within yourself.
Dogen

This quote by Dogen, the famous 13^th century Zen master, is a little misleading at first. When you first read it, it seems as though Dogen is telling us not to follow the advice of others. What he is actually telling us is not to blindly follow the advice of other, but rather to listen to the advice of others, while at the same time listening to your inner spirit. It is wise to listen to the advice and opinions of others, but always think for yourself. Don’t act on the advice of others until you feel, deep in your spirit, that their advice is right.

Trust your instinct to the end,
though you can render no reason.
Emerson

Trust your heart…
for it is never untrue to itself.
Baltasar Gracian

This is what is meant by listening to the voice within yourself. Always trust your internal voice, whether you call it your “small quiet voice,” or your intuition, it will not lead you astray if you will learn to listen to what it is trying to tell you. How do you know what it is trying to tell you? You listen. You have to spend some quiet time alone, just you and your spirit. For many this is hard to do. We are so used to having some external stimuli constantly bombarding us today that silence actually can feel awkward.

Close both eyes to see with the other eye.
Rumi

This is a skill that has to be developed just like your roundhouse kick or your side kick. Can you remember when you were first beginning martial arts, how awkward some of the kicks and techniques were? Nothing that is completely new is comfortable at first. You have to practice new skills and techniques until you become comfortable with them and you develop a certain level of skill with them. The same thing goes for listening to your intuition or your spirit. As Hui Neng taught, “Look within…The secret is in you.”

The truth of a thing is the feel of it,
not the think of it.
Stanley Kubrick

Bohdi
Warrior Wisdom

Becoming Clear

Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.
Lao Tzu

Stress, worry, anxiety, and fear can cloud your mind. When these emotions are allowed to take control of your mind, it is hard to see things clearly or make good decisions. Your mind can’t focus and will began to become “muddy” if you will. It is hard to think rationally when your mind is bombarded with these emotions. Just as a crystal clear lake can become muddy when the sediment at the bottom is disturbed, your mind will become “muddy” when it is disturbed.

Don’t let trifles disturb your tranquility of mind…
Ignore the inconsequential.
Greenville Kleiser

Quit minds cannot be perplexed or frightened
but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace,
like a clock during a thunderstorm.
Robert Louis Stevenson

So what do you do to clear your mind when it has become cloudy from these emotions? Do the same thing as the lake does to become clear again – nothing. The lake simply waits for the muddy sediment particles to settle back where they belong, and once again the lake becomes crystal clear. You should do the same thing. Quit thinking about the issue at hand. Just put that subject on the shelf for a while. Do something else like meditate, work in the garden, work out, etc.

Don’t let worldly thoughts and anxieties trouble your mind.
Ramakrishna

Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted.
Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.
Margolis

It really doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you get your mind off of the problem that is causing these emotions to cloud your thinking. Just get away from it and allow the mud to settle. When you come back, your mind, like the lake, will have cleared up and you will be able to see things differently. Once again, you will be able to think rationally and intelligently, the way the warrior should think.

The mind deludes itself.
In matters of the mind, you must stay on your guard.
Takuan Soho

The key here is to be patient. You can’t make the mud settle back to the bottom of the lake by pushing it back down; it has to settle on it own, at its own pace. Likewise, you can’t force yourself to clear your mind of stressful thoughts, unless you are proficient in meditation techniques and mind control. You have to just get away from those thoughts for a while, and the easiest way to do that is to get your mind on something else.

The secret of patience is to do something else in the meantime.
Spanish Proverb

Your mind can’t hold two different thoughts at the same time. Don’t believe me? Just try it… Think of a picture of a dog while at the same time you think of a picture of an elephant. Were you successful? The same thing goes for negative, stressful thoughts. If you are thinking of something else, they can’t remain in your mind. Sounds simple, but it is true. Next time you find that your mind is clouded by negative thinking, get busy doing something else, even if it is cleaning your house. Hey, if it doesn’t work, at least you will have a clean house, either way you win…

Be master of the mind rather than mastered by the mind.
Zen Maxim

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom

The Tao of Anger

A Zen student came to the master and complained, “Master, I have an ungovernable temper. How can I cure it?”
“You have something that is very strange,” said the master. “Let me see this thing that you have.”
“I cannot show it to you just now,” said the student.
“Then when can you show it to me?” asked the master
“It arises unexpectedly,” replied the student.
“Then it must not be your own true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any time. It is something you are not born with. It is not you.” the master replied.

Bohdi Sanders
Warrior Wisdom